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Fuel prices up, inflation stable

Thursday February 1 2018

People queue for fuel at a petrol station in Gulu Town due to shortage in supply last year. FILE PHOTO

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By Eronie Kamukama

Kampala.

Despite the rise in fuel prices, all inflation dropped, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) revealed yesterday during the release of the consumer price index at Statistics House in Kampala.Monthly headline inflation dropped by negative 0.3 per cent from 3.3 per cent to 3 per cent in January. This is a drop in monthly headline inflation from the earlier 0.6 per cent rise recorded in December last year. The negative inflation implies an actual drop in real prices of goods and services, for example, sugar and cereals such as millet flour. This drop in monthly inflation is also attributed to the slump in demand that follows the festive season. “With prices rising slowly, any Ugandan will, over the next month, use the same amount of money for an item bought the [previous] month,” said Mr Sam Kaisiromwe, senior statistician at UBOS.The January 2018 inflation report shows that fuel inflation increased by 0.8 per cent last month from the 0.3 per cent in December 2017. Mr Kaisiromwe attributed the rise in fuel prices to a consistent rise in global oil prices. However, UBOS is yet to register its impact on other goods and services. “I do not see that effect on other goods and services apart from the transportation sector that normally responds to the pump price increment by increasing their service charges,” Mr Kaisiromwe said. Food crop inflation also increased over the past month by 0.5 per cent from the 2.0 per cent drop in December 2017.